Contributions of marine ecosystems to CO2 storage and biodiversity
Press releases
07/15/2024
Seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and salt marshes can absorb and store up to 216 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere worldwide every year. Over centuries to millennia, they form an enormous carbon store of up to 22,000 million tonnes of carbon in marine sediments. At the same time, they make an important contribution to the preservation of biodiversity in the oceans and on the coasts, help to protect against storm surges and coastal defences and thereby contribute to the nutrition and safety of millions of people. This is shown in a research report by Oeko-Institut and the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research and commissioned by the German Environment Agency. The report examines the importance of coastal ecosystems for global climate protection.
